Best friends Jasper, Mo, and Ruby try out for the flag football team and learn what it means to be a part of a team in the first installment of this action-packed, fully illustrated early chapter book series!

Pick a book. Grow a Reader! This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!

Nine-year-old Jasper is the best football player ever... when he’s playing in his living room with his dad. But when he tries out for his town's flag football team, along with his friends Mo and Ruby, he realizes he might not be as skilled as he thought he was. Will Jasper help lead his team to victory in their first game? Or will Coach Sanders keep him on the sideline?

Engaging black-and-white artwork appears on every page, and game-time scenes are told through graphic novel-style panels. Nonfiction sidebars are also scattered throughout, introducing young readers to sports legends and other fun facts. Kids will learn all the flag football rules and terms as they read this book, and they won't be able to put it down because of its action-packed, relatable story!

Andrew Maraniss is a New York Times bestselling author of sports nonfiction for teens and adults. The Scholastic Branches series Sports Zone!, illustrated by Aishwarya Tandon, is his first fiction early chapter book series. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife and two young children.